Peter Molyneux reveals the meaning behind Curiosity (Spoof)

”The entire concept behind Curiosity is actually a metaphor for my career in the gaming industry” stated Molyneux in an exclusive interview.

”It began full of promise and I envisioned myself as having many different outwardly facing aspects to my skill-set, just like the untouched facets of the gleaming Curiosity cube at launch!” gushes Molyneux in his enthusiastic manner.

”As my career progressed my enthusiasm and integrity began to be chipped away until I found myself spouting pretentious bollocks which sounded like it meant something but was actually total shite, just like how people chip away at Curiosity until it reveals a picture of a cat having a piss or something – I thought it to be deep and meaningful at the time but now I have no fucking clue why i put it in there!” he chortles.

”The blocks falling away from Curiosity represent my credibility and self respect which have been cast aside and repeatedly shat on by my ridiculously overblown promises to the gaming community. The repetitive nature of tapping away at Curiosity itself is symbolic of how I repeatedly fail to deliver on just about everything I have turned my hand to for the last decade!”

We thanked Peter for his time but before we left the smugness of his presence we couldn't waste the opportunity to ask the mother of all questions – What lies at the centre of the Curiosity cube ?

”The centre of the cube will be something symbolic indicating the direction my career is going in the future. Of course I would never reveal exactly whats in store for the lucky winner but anyone expecting a stagnant turd or disease ridden vagina is on the right track.”

[Godmars290]

How does someone get like this anyway?

I give the man credit for his early work, but by the time he got to Fable he was hopelessly full of himself.

[Games4M - Rob]

Molyneux is such a weird guy. On the one hand he talks like a visionary and the stuff he comes out with would be quite cool (if rather gimmicky) concepts to have in a game... except Milo, i don't know what he was thinking there.

The thing that i dislike about him is that once he gets down to the actual building a game part, his ideas fall apart but he still keeps talking the bullshit right up until the last minute... oh, and he has a really annoying face.

...oh and his games are crap.

[Sephris]

The story was quite entertaining and it was a good read for sure. However, a blog is suppose to be about your feelings and thoughts on a subject, not someone else's. It's fine to quote from people in a blog, but it shouldn't be the main of it.

This would have been perfect for a news article, and what I would like to see is this put in the news, and then a blog about how you feel about what he said. Take his quotes and dissect them, tell me how you feel about them. Take it personally and let your feeling flow. That's what makes a good blog.

You have the right idea for really good content, it was just put in the wrong place. Get a little more familiar with what goes where here and I see really good things in your future at N4G.

[SilentNegotiator]

The vague, short rules for blogs:

"Topics
All your blog posts should in some way be related to the topic of the NewsBoiler site where your blog is hosted. This is not the place to talk about your personal life, so try instead to post interesting thoughts or information that will interest other members"

Not about his personal life? Check (more than can be said about a LOAD of blogs on here).
Interesting thoughts? Check (parodies imply lots of interesting views and opinions).

Seems to work out to me.
I suggest bringing up more strict rule ideas to the SMODs/Admin/whomever if you don't think this makes for a good use of blogs, Sephris.

[Sephris]

What you said would be quite the interesting argument against me, Silent. But nowhere did I say I was quoting N4G rules. I was describing how blogs work in general, especially if you want to be known as good at writing them. But please, don't take my word for it, take the dictionary's word for "blog" :

: a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site

Do you notice the words "personal journal?" And then the additional word "reflections" that comes after it? Here is the dictionary link if you still doubt me.

http://www.merriam-webster....

No, I was not talking about N4G guidelines when I said it should be about your personal feelings on a subject. I was speaking as a professional writer who has done thousands of blogs over many years and knows how to attract an audience. I have two other jobs that I do as well as moderate here. I am a political journalist and a game reviewer/blogger as well. I know what I am talking about. And after I have done this for more years than you have been past puberty, I feel I am quite qualified to give advice to someone trying to break into the field. I am sorry if you do not agree, but when your credentials as a writer top mine, then you can take over the advice columns and I will retire. Let me know when that happens. :)

[SilentNegotiator]

(spoof)
Do yourself a favor; be a little less humble in your writing. It's unbecoming to be too reserved. You almost didn't convince me that you were better than me.
(spoof)

You see, that paragraph was a parody. It makes profound statements about how I feel on the subject using clear sarcasm that directly juxtaposes the reality. In many ways the assertions are much more effective when presented with the counter-points; the counter-points' weaknesses are presented side-by-side with the strong points of the pro-statement.

With those points, it makes for a good blog as well as satisfies N4G's requirements.

There's really no need to be so rude with your "puberty" comments and such. Believe it or not, I'm not impressed by someone saying that they're a journalist, with the bar of entry. Experience does not equate to quality. Don't get cranky with me citing the site's rules because another user called you a "dummy"

[Games4M - Rob]

Sephris, you are making yourself look very silly.

If you say something dumb, of which there are several dumb statements in your above comments, then it seems a fair critiscism for someone to label you a dummy. That aside it seems to me that he was doing it lightheartedly so for you to take it so seriously is even sillier.

Firstly since you are keen on swapping credentials then i have also been a proffessional writer. I have written for my own website, for a large US based website, and also done regular freelance work for one of the big 3 console manufacturers. Now that that is out of the way lets move on.

You and your dictionaries definition of a blog is out of date. Blogs are used for all manner of purposes these days from recipes to reviews and as in this case, comedy. A dictionary definition is of little relevance in this case. There are no fixed instructions on N4G as regards what a blog should contain nor is there a link to any particular definition. Therefore this post meets the very loose criteria of N4G blog posts.

Your statements about this article causing potential legal issues is a complete falsehood. Labelling any article as "spoof" in the title is enough of a disclaimer for the public to realise that it is not meant to be taken literally. The author could have even left "spoof" out of the title but then would have had to include a more comprehensive disclaimer at the bottom.

Your comments in general show a very poor lack of comprehension and I am left scratching my head at some of the advice you have given, it really does appear that you have little understanding of this style of writing. Also your comment relating to another posters puberty is incredibly childish. My 15 year old son would cringe at such a comment being made in the school playground so for someone in your position and your alledged level of experience it really does beggar belief.

Finally i find some of your above comments quite pompous and arrogant. "Im not a dummy, im a moderator" - im afraid the latter does not instantly absolve you of the former. Your comments show a lack of comprehension of the function of satire, coupled with some factual incorrect statements to try and lend weight to your position. I find this worrysome for someone in a position of responsibility.

I would suggest that you leave your personal preferences out of the picture and simply moderate the site as defined by the sites rules. In my opinion it is a good thing to have a variety of user content on N4G, the article certainly made me smile.

[TheFirstClassic]

I'm really having trouble comprehending all that is going on here. You say that you're a mod, but even though you have ten bubbles, it says contributor on your page.

"The story was quite entertaining and it was a good read for sure. However, a blog is suppose to be about your feelings and thoughts on a subject, not someone else's. It's fine to quote from people in a blog, but it shouldn't be the main of it.

This would have been perfect for a news article, and what I would like to see is this put in the news, and then a blog about how you feel about what he said. Take his quotes and dissect them, tell me how you feel about them."

Did you not notice that all the quotes were made up??? It wasn't someone else's words, it was his. And I'm not sure how it would be perfect for a news article, especially if this kind of thing will get you sued, like you said in your next comment. And how the heck could he write his thoughts and feelings about those made up quotes? They were all jokes in and of themselves. Also, everybody would know this is a parody, and having spoof in the title makes it unquestionable

Also, like Rob mentioned, it looks to me like him calling you a dummy was a light-hearted joke. You seemed rather offended by it though.

I hate to say it but all this stuff has me so confused, I can't help but wonder if you're just messing with us all here.

[Alcyone]

*AHEM* Misunderstanding stems from: A very brief and unclear statement of spoof at the top and then no mention again. It's brief, your long title gets in the way of it being easily noticed. This is the start.

IF a mod can interpret the article as being intended to be direct quotes, then the idea that you could be sued for libel or defamation of character are not out of reach. Perhaps a disclaimer might help towards your article. Regardless, you were rather disrespectful, especially when after the dummy comment, when he gave you rather sound advice, which really summed up to don't call people names and add a disclaimer, you broke down his words to justify yourself. At which point, this became a completely different beast than what it started as. Which was, regardless of what you think, friendly advice from all aspects from what I can see. No, you are not the "victim" here, you are the antagonist, who felt too justified in what he wrote to take a little advice in stride. Sephris never saidd he was deleting your article, what he said was that you would not be gaining HIS approval. His addition to the staff I might add, is rather recent, so it may not reflect on the page you reference, but that makes it no less true.

DUMMY may not be as hard hitting as other insults, but when your article is misinterpreted as being actual statements rather than a spoof, maybe you should consider why that is and at the least give the initial statements some weight. Considering how batshit crazy Peter can be, are you really that surprised that someone might take this seriously?

[TheFirstClassic]

Alcyone What are you talking about? I never called him a dummy, he never gave me advice, and this isn't my article. I think you meant to reply to Nicaragua.

I don't pretend to know much about the legal aspects of this situation, but I was under the impression that if you do specify, which he did, then you were ok. Maybe I'm wrong.

But yeah I am surprised someone would think this is real.

"The centre of the cube will be something symbolic indicating the direction my career is going in the future. Of course I would never reveal exactly whats in store for the lucky winner but anyone expecting a stagnant turd or disease ridden vagina is on the right track."

I find it hard to believe someone would think that this line is real, even if it is from Peter.

So, Sephris is a mod? Ok, you would know better than I would after all, being his wife. I'm not trying to attack anyone here by the way, but it seems obvious you didn't read my comment if you think I wrote this article. Guess you just skimmed over it.

[Games4M - Rob]

Alcyone,

both you and your husband need to stop throwing around this "it will cause legal issues, you will get sued" - its utter nonsense. If you do not know the law then dont try and use it as part of your argument. The "spoof" in the title is legally enough of a disclaimer, its not obscured or written in small print, its right in the title and this is more than sufficient. Don't just speculate and repeat your husbands falsehoods, go and look it up yourself if you dont believe me.

You mention that Sephris gave "sound advice" in his first comment but this also isnt true. Sephris advised Nicaragua to submit this as a news article and then write about his feelings on the quotes. To suggest that someone submit a completely fictitous spoof article, with no official quotes, no source, no website URL, as news is not sound advice - its ridiculous advice and im pretty sure it breaks just about every rule on N4G as to what can be considered news. To then advise someone to write about how they feel about the aforementioned fictional quotes is just dumb.

It seems very obvious to myself that Sephris didnt read the article properly and then got defensive when Nicaragua called him out on it. Its simply poor comprehension on your husbands part and it would have been better for him just to admit he was wrong rather than stamp his feet and puff out his moderator chest, because now he just looks silly.

As for being called a dummy (which in my eyes was a lighthearted comment highlighting Sephris lack of understanding) then how would you justify your husband childish attack on another reader with puberty references ? Was that also friendly sound advice or was it an unwarranted juvenile outburst targetted against someone who simply disagreed with him ?

Overall Sephris has shown some shockingly poor judgement and comprehension over this entire scenario. Im sure its hard to be objective when its your husband who is at fault, cannot admit his fault, making up false legal claims, insulting readers etc but you should try unless you end up looking equally silly.

Alas i am out of bubbles. If i have anything more to add i guess that i too will have to get my wife to log in and add weight to my argument.

PS: its worth noting that Sephris also insults someone as "dummy" ,simply for criticising his writing style, in the 3rd comment of his latest blog. You should add massive hypocrite to the list of your husbands failings.

[Nicaragua]

LMAO –Sephris brings in his wife to back him up ! This is hilarious :)

Honestly this whole experience has turned out to be infinitely more entertaining than i thought it would be – thank you Sephris x x x

Seriously mate I cannot tell if you are taking the piss or if you really believe what you are saying, its THAT absurd. On the basis that you are for real then let me be clear – your knowledge of legality on publication of the written word is sorely lacking, your reading comprehension is even worse, your ego is as fragile as glass, and the arrogant, childish, and defensive nature you have displayed here is thoroughly repulsive. Finally the presence of your wife blindly echoing your misguided comments, whether you requested it or not, has made you look like a weakling.

I think this has run its course now but thank you all for reading and partaking in the discussion. It seems from the majority of comments here and messages I have recieved that most people got the joke and gained some amusement from it, and that was all I intended.